Seventy-one Percent of Americans Believe Last-minute Travel is More Expensive, Yet Hotwire Hotels Are Offering Deepest Discounts on the Day of Arrival
Contrary to Popular Belief, Big City Hotels Available to Hotwire's 11th Hour Bookers with Huge Day-of Discounts

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With MLK weekend just days away, Hotwire.com, a leading discount travel site, today revealed more results from its second annual American Travel Behavior Survey, conducted online on its behalf by Harris Interactive in October 2012 among over 2,000 U.S. adults. According to the survey, 71 percent of Americans believe booking a last-minute leisure trip costs more than booking one further in advance. However, the latest Hotwire pricing trends show the exact opposite; hotels, particularly those in big cities typically associated with high prices, are offering their deepest discounts on the day of check-in.

Large hotels in major cities like Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco adjust their prices on a daily, or sometimes hourly, basis. Oftentimes hotel demand doesn't always materialize as much as expected and they discount heavily on the day of check-in as a last ditch attempt to fill empty rooms. That means that travelers shopping for a room to stay in that night can score a better rate than if they booked weeks, or even days, in advance. Hotwire works with these hotels to provide these 11th hour discounts to travelers through their website, mobile site and mobile app, where 75 percent of bookings are made on the day of check-in.

"Folks visiting major metropolises are typically wary of waiting until the last minute to book a hotel because they're worried about being able to find an affordable room in a prime location," said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group. "But in reality, hoteliers are dropping prices right up until the day of check in to attract last-minute bookings, with more and more coming from mobile devices. That means it's not too late to score a great deal for MLK weekend, which is right around the corner."

While travelers can get bigger discounts than ever at the last minute, they should keep in mind that different seasons can result in better deals – for example, winter months are typically off-season for many destinations, which can lead to bigger savings before the busier spring and summer months hit.

Below are five big city examples for January where folks can save more on the day of check-in than if they book further in advance:

City

Star Rating and Location

Price: Day

Of

Price: 7-14

days Prior

Percent

Savings

1. San

Francisco

4.5-star Union Square East

- Moscone area hotel

$152/night

$246/night

62%

2. Los Angeles

4-star Santa Monica –

Venice – Marina Del Ray

area hotel

$134/night

$215/night

60%

3. New York

City

4-star Downtown - SoHo -

Financial District area hotel

$114/night

$147/night

29%

4. Chicago

4.5-star Magnificent Mile

area hotel

$97/night

$121/night

25%

5. Atlanta

4-star Buckhead area hotel

$89/night

$109/night

22%

Above savings are calculated by comparing Hotwire Hot Rates for select destinations seven days before against day of bookings. Hotel sample rates are based on Hotwire searches made on 1/14/13 for same day stay compared to a stay either one week or two weeks ahead (1/21/13 or 1/28/13).

Travelers can easily stay on top of the latest last-minute deals to their favorite locations through Hotwire's award-winning website, www.hotwire.com, or search and book an affordable hotel while on-the-go via its free mobile app, available from the U.S. and Canada App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.iTunes.com/AppStore.

Survey MethodologyHarris Interactive® fielded the study on behalf of Hotwire from October 15-17, 2012 via its QuickQuerySM online omnibus service, interviewing 2,133 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Andrew Reynolds at andrew@atomicpr.com or (323) 648-5425.